A Saher camera detects the license plate number of a speeding vehicle in Tabuk Tuesday. (Okaz photo) JEDDAH: A senior Islamic scholar said hiding traffic cameras is a positive development and not an act of spying, which is forbidden in Islam. The Traffic Department's Saher system is a “praiseworthy” practice, said Sheikh Ali Hakami, a member of the Saudi Supreme Judicial Council. The state-of-the-art traffic management system monitors vehicles and tracks them via their license plates using technology. First introduced last April in Riyadh, the system's cameras are usually hidden on trees, bridges and billboard signs. Using technology to save lives is a positive step because the system has reduced traffic accidents caused by speeding, he said. “It would have been impossible without the Saher system,” Hakami said. The scholar's comment came in the wake of arguments that the system is an act of spying. In Riyadh, the death rate caused by speeding dropped 49 percent, from 118 cases to 79, since the Saher system was introduced there, according to traffic reports. Injuries have decreased by 9 percent, from 583 to 525. Traffic accidents decreased by 21 percent, from 51,959 to 40,900, reports have said. Reducing the accident rate could save the national economy at least SR13 billion a year, said one analyst. The country has invested in this project to save lives and help the economy, said Talat Hafiz, who noted that it also helps police find stolen vehicles. Saudi Arabia has invested SR2 billion in the system, according to columnist Lulu Al-Hubaishi. The investment in 11,000 cameras is enough to pay the annual salaries of 19,200 traffic officers, she said. Drivers have criticized the system and filed complaints with national human rights bodies. “It is not clear yet how the procedures of this system are administered,” said Abduljaleel Al-Saif, a human rights activist. “If a driver thinks he does not deserve a ticket from Saher, he has the right to file a complaint with a specialized court, but our Shariah courts still reject these complaints because they don't fall in their jurisdiction,” he said. The National Human Rights Society has received many complaints about the system, said its chairman, Mifleh Al-Qahtani. “A huge awareness campaign was launched before the system was introduced, but many procedures are not clear yet,” he said.
